Supply Chain Executive Commentary

Every industry is being affected by the convergence of technology in the marketplace as offerings broaden and shift to delivery as a service. According to Harvard Business Review, “IT-Driven innovation is reshaping industries and redrawing the lines of competitive rivalry.” By Seth Woodward, Sales Enablement Specialist, TBI

The Process Bulldog is a lynchpin role at the heart of a healthy process culture. This role is the connection layer of your process governance structure —linking the vision of the leadership team with the creativity of the process owners and participants, the people who are involved in process challenges every day. Every organization needs one.

From intense policy and political debate in the U.S. to the effects of recent votes in Europe and rising debt levels in China, the path to going global for the channel has never seemed so lucrative. As someone with more than 15 years international experience, edgy resellers and IT service providers have been asking what one piece of advice I would offer to help in their global strategies. And, while this insight is focused on the IT channel, I believe these guidelines are applicable across multiple industries. So here it is: stay the course.

Customization used to be a bad word to many business owners. It was viewed as encumbering higher costs and depending on complex IT infrastructure. However, with the availability of more outsourced technology resources and the increased drive for innovation and marketplace gains, customization is becoming a more common business practice. By Kristen McAlister, President, Cerius Executives

Payments processors and service providers aren’t the only ones benefiting from rising valuations in today’s massive convergence of technology, banking, and payments. Though the payments industry has successfully leveraged synergistic value from the acquisitions of, and/or strategic partnerships with ISVs and VARs, there has been a similar effect evidenced on the other side of the equation as well.

Habits — they either make you or break you, especially in the world of Value Added Resellers (VARs). In this article, we’ve outlined five habits of the most successful VARs as they have these down to a science. And to prove it, we’ve asked our top TouchBistro POS reseller, Wendell Au, to weigh in on how living and breathing these habits has helped pave his way to success.

When I first started managing, I thought a lot about myself: how I was doing with my team, how I didn’t want to be a terrible manager, things I could do to become a great manager. Yet when I first started out, the advice I got was “it’s not about you anymore.”

Where in the world is the school where managers study apology avoidance. It always surprises me when perpetrator-like managers have already built an impressive array of personal apology avoidance habits and language. They don’t get this from their mothers, I know that. I also know those who ignore their mom’s advice deserve what they get.